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National and important days of Bulgaria

MORAL VALUES AND CELBRATION FOR KINDERGAR TEN EDUCATION DETSKA GRADINA “ARABELLA” February

Survakane – the New Year's well-wishing

Another wonderful ancient Bulgarian tradition in the New Year's well-wishing (wishing a Happy New Year by tapping the person's back with a decorated cornel twig). It is done during the first day of the New Year and is called in the folk calendar Vassilovden ( Vassail's Day), Survaki or Surva. The purpose of this tradition is to wish and secure health, prosperity and wealth to the household.

It starts at midnight when the New Year's survakari (well-wishers) visit the houses. Each New Year,s well-wisher has got survachka. The survachka is a cornel twig with many leaf- buds. It is decorated with small ring-shaped buns, strings of popcorn, beans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, chilli peppers, and dried fruits.

The decoration also includes woollen threads, beads, coins, and ribbons.

The New Year's well wishing is long expected by all members of the family. The New Year's wellwishers tap the adults'backs with the decorated cornel twigs wishing them health, success and wealth. The New Year‘s well-wishers receive gifts-dried fruits, “sugar cockerels” (lollipops in the shape of cockerels), walnuts, candy and small change coins.

KOLEDARI

Koledari are Slavic traditional performers of a ceremony called koleduvane. The koledari carolers traditionally start their rounds at midnight on Christmas Eve. They visit the houses of their relatives, neighbours and other people in the village. The caroling is usually performed by young men, which are accompanied by an elder one called stanenik. Each caroler carries a stick called gega. They wish the people from the village health, wealth and happiness.

The time for the koleduvane is strictly defined by tradition - from midnight to dawn on Christmas Eve. With the power of the songs they have to chase away the demons. By sunrise they lose that power and stop to koleduvat. Preparations began on 20th of December. Men are in traditional festive attire with a special decoration on their hats.

BOGOYAVLENIE / YORDANOVDEN (Epiphany, also Theophany) - January 6 The key rituals on Yordanovden/Epiphany (Theophany) day are related to the beliefs in the healthy power of water. On that day, during the church service, water is consecrated. After the service, the priest throws the cross into the river and according to the traditions bachelors swim into the icy waters to take it out whoever takes it out is supposed to be healthy and happy. He should go around the village with the cross in his hands and everybody should give him gifts.

If the cross dropped in the river freezes that means that the year is going to be very healthy and fruitful. A number of rituals with consecrated water are performed on Yordanovden/Epiphany day - early in the morning a pure girl washes the home icon; sick people are sprinkled or bathed with water from the river where the cross was dropped, and then everyone washes their faces and hands for good health.

BABIN DEN (MIDWIFE ’S DAY) Babin den is the day when Bulgarians celebrate and honor the elder women and midwives .In the past (well, not so long ago) the midwives where the ones to help younger women to give birth. Babin den (Midwife’s Day ) is the day when all children that were born in the previous year and their mothers gather at the house of the midwife and perform rituals connected to the family. This holiday is very old and goes back to the pagan times of Bulgaria and have managed to survive until nowadays. The date of the celebration varies according to which part of the country you live in - for some it is celebrated on the 8th January and for others on 21st.

The name ‘Babin Den’ originates from the Bulgarian word Den for day and the word for old woman or grandmother ‘Baba.’

On Granny’s day the village midwife visits all babies born with her help throughout the year. She bathes them ritually, spreads some honey and butter on their foreheads so that their life be sweet and rich, then blesses them for good health and long life.

ST. TRIFON ZAREZAN On 14th of February, Bulgarians celebrate the holiday of vinegrowers and winemakers, known as St. Trifon Zarezan (Trifon the Pruner) – the Bulgarian patron saint of vineyards.

Trifon Zarezan is the traditional Bulgarian wine celebration that marks the time of the year when vinegrowers trim back their vines.

The holiday marks the dividing line between the outgoing winter and the onset of spring – the transition between the dead winter season and the invigorating powers of the following seasons. There are many rituals performed to ensure vitality and fruitfulness.

The first pruning of the vines for the season is the main ritual performed on February 14, when people gather in the vineyards outside the villages. Before the pruning begins, men turn to the sun and make the sign of the cross three times.

After the first three twigs are cut, they wash them with the red wine, holy water and wood ashes that they had kept since Christmas Eve.

On this day every year two young men get dressed as Trifon and god Dionysus. After cutting of vines young girls offer cake with honey and savory, and the priest says a prayer for prosperity and sprinkles holy water for health. The cut vine is watered and ritual words are said for health and rich harvest.

Baba Marta‘s (granny Marta‘ s) – 1 March The Bulgarian tradition to adorn clothes with red and white tassels on each March 1st is very old. The tassel is called martenitsa (the word derives mfro the word “mart” the Bulgarian word for March). For Bulgarians martenitsa is a unique way to wish good health, success, welfare and luck. It is why Bulgarian give martenitsas to people they love and respect – relatives and friends. Every Bulgarian give martenitsa and thus s/he greets the first day of March. The woman who brings the martenitsas is called Baba Marta. For our ancestors Baba Marta ( Granny Marta) was not associated with an old woman, but a woman who is knowledgeable, acts like a leader and is respected.

Bulgarians wear martenitsas until the moment they see a stork or a swallow.

Then they hang them up on a fruit tree, put them under a stone or throw them in a river. These acts symbolize the desire for good health, success, rich crop and fertility, and strength to overcome the challenges.

Lazarov den (St. Lazarus' Day)

In the calendar of the Bulgarian Christian Church this holiday is associated with the resurrection of Lazarus (Marta and Maria‘s brother). Christ takes him out of the grave and Specific singing and restores him to life. dancing on St, Lazarus‘ Day is a spring maidenly ritual.

The main group of participants are maidens for whom marriage is forthcoming. In some regions of Bulgaria the participants ate little girls of 5-6 to 10-12 years of age. On St. Lazarus‘ Day the maidens – singers and dancers – wear local national costumes. In the morning they visit in tuns the houses of relatives and neighbours.

It is believed that each house visited on St. Lazarus‘ Day by the singers and dancers will be blessed throughout the whole year. The songs sung on St. Lazarus‘ Day are filled up with craving for love and marriage, fertility, health and family happiness. They gather and colour them on Good Thursday before Easter. The ritual finishes with throwing the maidens‘ wreaths into the river.

EASTER Easter is one of the most significant holidays in the Bulgarian calendar and starting with Palm Sunday, the holy week leads up to the Great Day. In tune with worldwide Orthodox traditions, bright red colored eggs and Easter breads known as "kozunak" are the prominent symbols of Easter in Bulgaria.

At midnight on the .

Saturday before Easter Sunday, people gather at the church with red painted eggs and bread. The priest proclaims three times "Christos voskrese" (Christ has risen) and the congregation replies "Vo istina voskrese" (Indeed he has risen). After a special sequence of services, the clergy blesses the breads and eggs brought by the people.

The Bulgarian good luck crack is a unique Easter tradition in Bulgaria. Eggs are cracked after the midnight service and over the next few days.

People take turns in tapping their eggs against the eggs of others, and the person who ends up with the last unbroken egg is believed to have a year of good luck.

DAY OF BULGARIAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE , AND SLAVONIC LITERATURE

May 24 is the Bulgarian education and culture, and Slavonic literature day. It is also known as the day of St. Cyril and Methodius, in honor of the brothers who created the Cyrillic alphabet.

It is a public holiday in Bulgaria, celebrated with an abundance of cultural events.

Cyril and Methodius were canonized as saints for their extensive work for the christianizing of the Slavs and the creation of the first Slavic alphabet. They are also known as “Apostles of the Slavs”.

In the 9th century the Holy Brothers Sts. Cyril and Methodius created the Slavic alphabet and made the first translations in it. Their students introduced the alphabet in Bulgaria, putting the beginning of its journey to the world.

Nestinarstvo

Nestinarstvo is dancing on living coals with bare feet.

This old ritual dates back to pagan times. It is part of the celebration of the day of Saints Konstantin and Elena (the Roman emperor who proclaimed Christianity to be one of the Empire’s official religions and his mother), June 3rd.

In old times, in the morning of that day, the whole village walks in a procession to the nearby river, where the nestinar dancers with consecrate Konstantin and Elena’s icon. The village sets up a huge fire on the main plaza and celebrates during the whole day. By nightfall, only the living coals remain. Then, the nestinary fall into trance. With the icon in hands, they start dancing barefoot on the hot coals under the rhythm of drums. Sometimes, the nestinari (male) and nestinarki (female) speak like prophets. On the next morning, their feet have no signs of burns.

In Bulgaria, the nestinari ritual is typical only for the region of Strandja mountain. Today, the ceremony is still kept only in one village, Bulgari. In other places it is only a tourist attraction.

June 29, International Day of the Danube The countries of the Danube river basin have been celebrating Danube Day on 29th June since 2004, the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Danube River Protection Convention. The international day aims to focus attention on the wonderful river that we use daily, and to create a sort of Danube solidarity in order to preserve the river’s valuable qualities.

September September 15: 15: First First Day Day of of School School in in Bulgaria Bulgaria

 It’s really a great tradition in Bulgaria where the whole town turns out for the first day of school to celebrate the beginning of the new school year. Children bring the teachers flowers and there is a long program that includes singing, speeches, poetry readings and dancing, and younger kids even play games.

LEADERS OF THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL REVIVAL DAY (NATIONAL ENLIGHTENERS DAY) - 1st November The day is devoted to the bookmen, the enligheteners, the fighters for national liberation who have preserved through the centuries the spiritual values of the nation and its moral .

Every year on 1st November Bulgaria celebrates the Day of the National Revival Leaders. It is an official holiday in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Across Bulgaria, Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival Day (sometimes called National Enlighteners Day ) is an occasion to pay tribute to all those committed to culture and education. It is traditionally a day to give awards to outstanding teachers, actors, and artists of all sorts.

Since the 1930s, it has been a tradition in cities and towns throughout the country to hold parades honoring students and teachers. In the capital city of Sofia, the parade progresses beneath huge portraits of those leaders who nourished Bulgaria's cultural rebirth.

Nikulden – St. Nicholas Day-December 6th Nikulden – St. Nicholas Day-December 6th, is a great winter festival.

Bulgarians celebrate St. Nicholas as the protector of sailors and fishermen. Stories are told of St. Nikolay, the commander of the sea, calming wind and storms and walking over the sea to rescue ships in danger. Like Greek sailors, Bulgarians keep icons of St. Nicholas on shipboard, seeking protection from storms.

Sailors' wives put icons of Nicholas into the sea, praying to St. Nicolay to bring their husbands safely back to shore.

The traditional Nikulden meal in each household is based upon a fish meal - “ribnik� - a carp in dough - is traditional for the holiday. Carp is regarded as Nicholas' servant. There are also two special loaves of bread. The food is blessed at church or at home before being served.

National and important days of Bulgaria